Prince Albert teachers have another opportunity to apply for Teacher Innovation Support Fund.
The next intake is open until Oct. 5 for teachers in both school divisions in Prince Albert.
Catholic Division director of education Lorel Trumier said that the division is excited for the opportunity.
“I think that we’re so lucky to have these opportunities for innovation, for teachers and seeing some really good work that’s already occurred for our system,” Trumier said.
She explained that teachers can re-apply for older projects or apply for a new one.
“We already have people that are interested in submitting some projects,” Trumier said.
The division has had another teacher’s project approved in the Teacher Innovation Support Fund.
The fund was introduced in 2024, with the first approved intake going to Simon Lambert from Ecole Holy Cross.
The division was recently announced that Grade 7 teacher Caitlin Thalheimer from St. John Community School has received approval. Thalheimer has been approved for a grant of $75,000.
Director of education Lorel Trumier notified the board of education about the decision during their regular meeting on Aug. 18.
“The projects are just starting,” she said. “We just got approval for Caitlin Thalheimer’s project for STEM at St John, just toward the end of the year. She’s just kick starting her project at the same time that we have the opportunity for other teachers to engage. I think that’s very positive.”
Thalheimer’s approved project is for a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Lab.
The STEM lab will enhance the delivery of curriculum and support experiential learning while nurturing creativity, according to the memo to the board. The approach will involve other division departments including facilities and IT.
Trumier said the project will be launched over the current school year. She added that it will be a year-long commitment focusing on different opportunities in experiential learning.
Trumier said it will benefit both students in the 2025-2026 school year and beyond.
In Saskatchewan Rivers, director of education Neil Finch also included a note about the program in his Director’s Update at the board’s regular meeting on Monday. The division has already been approved for an Innovative Flexible Learning Space Project at Vincent Massey School in the first intake. In the 2025 intake, they were approved for an Inclusive Land-Based Learning Space at John Diefenbaker School, which was approved for $75,000.
Division receives report on Transportation
The Prince Albert Catholic School Division board of education received an updated on the division’s transportation services during the board’s regular meeting on Monday.
The Bus Contractor Review and Statistics report is a periodic review of First Student compliance with their internal processes and policies along with pertinent statistics. Director of Education Lorel Trumier said that they continue to have a good relationship with the bus company.
“We do the checks and balances along the way that are necessary, so safety is a priority,” she explained. “There’s a review and there’s some statistics and information that we always assess in an ongoing basis.”
Chief Financial Officer Greg McEwen gave the report at Monday’s meeting. It featured data from Feb 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025.
As of 2025, the age of the average bus is 13-years-old. Around 1,500 students were transported. There were no routes cancelled due to mechanical issues, two routes cancelled due to weather, 19 routes cancelled due to having no driver available and seven routes cancelled for unspecified reasons.
The inspection documentation portion shows that there are currently 30 drivers and no spare drivers. First Student currently operates 34 vehicles in the division.
The compliance report concludes that there is nothing to indicate that First Student is not compliant with their training and inspection process.
The average capacity of buses utilized is 70 per cent. The average one-way bus ride is 35 minutes and the longest one-way bus ride is 90 minutes. There were two accidents reported in the time period.
The report is compiled in consultation with the local First Student manager.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
